DCH Rehabilitation - SportsMetrics™ Program

Injury Prevention at its Best

Driscoll Children’s Hospital is a certified clinical site for the Cincinnati Sports Medicine Research and Education Foundation’s SportsMetrics™ program. The foundation is recognized as a world leader in injury prevention for female athletes.

Sports Injuries – A Serious Risk

Serious knee injuries sideline athletes at an alarming rate

100,000 anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) occur in the United States each year.
1 in 100 high school female athletes per year!
Majority are non-contact injuries in sports such as soccer, basketball & volleyball.
Females suffer a 4-6 x increased incidence of serious knee injury over males participating in the same sport

Watch an injury Rebecca Lobo experienced

How Does That Happen?

Usually occur with twisting, jumping, landing or cutting. The athlete often feels a tear or hears a "pop.” Often the injury involves more than just the ACL:

Small fractures or bone bruises of the top surface of the tibia are common.
The meniscus or other ligaments are often injured.

What Can We Do About It?

The SportsMetrics™ program at Driscoll trains both athletes and coaches in proper body mechanics to prevent injury. This is accomplished through a warm up, strength training, flexibility and jump/plyometric training. A typical six-week training results in:

Corrected deficits:

Increased ham/quad ratio from 51% to 60%
Improved ham/quad ratio 13% dominant side;
26% non-dominant side

Decreased landing forces:

Landing force from jump: 22%
Knee adduction and abduction moments: 50%

Increased power, strength, jump height:

Ham power 44% dominant side, 21% non-dominant side
Mean vertical jump:10%

Screenings – Early Detection:

The SportsMetrics™ program at Driscoll is available to screen your up-and-coming athlete. Females in jumping, cutting sports should be screened/tested prior to participation:

Visually, for landing technique
Isokinetic strength

For Additional Information

Michele Hays - Physical Therapy Supervisor
Phone: (361) 694-4862

Driscoll Children's Rehabilitation and Medical Center
3533 S. Alameda Street
Corpus Christi, Texas 78411
Phone: (361) 694-KIDS (5437)
Fax: (361) 694-4821

Driscoll Children's Hospital is committed to providing service to all children.

To determine if a child qualifies for financial assistance or for support with insurance pre-authorization, contact Driscoll Children's Hospital’s Patient Financial Services at
(361) 694–5111.

Making an Appointment / Referral
A physician prescription or referral is required prior to making an appointment. A referral form can be obtained by calling (361) 694-4533 or (361) 694-6135.

Referrals can be faxed to (361) 694-4821

For More Information
To make an appointment or for more information, call (361) 694-KIDS (5437).